Danganronpa IF: Between Hope and Despair
by Hext9
Summary: After escaping from the Killing School Life organized by Junko Enoshima thanks to the help of her twin sister Mukuro Ikusaba, whose fate was changed by Makoto Naegi. Now both and the rest of class 78 will have to face new threats and dangerous situations in a world where despair has caused an unimaginable chaos and destruction. Story based on the novel Danganronpa IF.
1. The Beginning of Hope

_Hello everyone,_

_I decided to write a Danganronpa fic that i wanted to do for some time. The story takes place right after the events of the light novel Danganronpa IF, which explores an alternative scenario about a series of lucky events that ultimately cause Makoto Naegi to end up recovering some of his memories and changing the fate of Mukuro Ikusaba as well, causing her to decide to rebel against her sister Junko in order to save Makoto and the rest of the 78th class, and that after an intense battle against dozens of Monokuma robots, the fifteen students could escape alive from the High School Life of Mutual Killing._

_**Warning:** This fic will contain spoilers and characters belonging to the games DR1: Trigger Happy Havoc, DR2: Goodbye Despair, DR: Ultra Despair Girls, and the light novels DR: Zero and obviously DR: IF._

**\- Between Hope and Despair -**

**Chapter I: The Beginning of Hope**

"So... what do we do now?" Asked Makoto Naegi, a boy of below average height with spiky light brown hair with a prominent ahoge and hazel eyes. He was a student from Hope's Peak Academy with the title of 'Ultimate Lucky Student'. His outfit consisted in a green hooded jacket adorned with a red stripe along the zipper, an open black jacket with golden buttons over the hoodie, black jeans, and red and white sneakers.

"The first thing we have to do is to get as far away from this place as possible, the farthest from my sister's reach..." Replied Mukuro Ikusaba, a slim girl of above average height and sky blue eyes, although the freckles around her nose were the more standout physical trait of the girl who was disguised like her twin sister. She was wearing a wig with large blondish strawberry twintails adorned with a white rabbit hairpin and a red and white bow. Her outfit consisted in a tight black jacket with red buttons above a white shirt that exposed the top of her black bra, as well as a long, loose white tie adorned with a pattern of pixeled rabbits, a red plaid miniskirt and long black boots with heels and red shoelaces.

"By the way, is your psycho sister's really going to let us leave just like that?" Asked incredulous a boy of average height, light blue eyes and orange hair, his name was Leon Kuwata, the Super High School Baseball Player, although he had an appeareance more fit to a "Rockstar" rather than a baseball player.

"Junko is probably going to treat this as a simple game and allow us to flee, but then she will get bored and by all means possible she'll get us back to finish what she started." The Super High School Level Soldier answered devoid of any emotion on her voice after remembering the words her younger sister had told her through a destroyed Monokuma unit that one day they will have to return, since the key for recovering the memories of her classmates was inside there.

Just a few instant later, the enormous gate that separated Hope's Peak Academy with the outside world closed, leaving the group with no other choice but to leave the campus.

"It seems that there is no going back..." The Super High School Level Detective Kyoko Kirigiri muttered as she looked one last time at the enormous building that once had sheltered the most talented High School students from the country, while also remembering that her father was the school headmaster until his execution at the hands of Junko Enoshima, which caused the detective a melancholy look barely perceptible in her lavender eyes.

As they were walking through the enormous campus of the academy, the fifteen students noticed that the sky was painted of a dark crimson red, causing them to began to experience a heavy atmosphere that enveloped their whole being.

"The sky looks so creepy that it's giving me the shivers!" Aoi Asahina exclaimed as she trembled.

Just as the group stood at the entrance of the campus an apocalyptic scene was in front of their eyes: buildings in ruins, shops and residences with signs of having been looted violently, trees and light poles ripped from their bases, scorched vehicles, as well as traces of blood and human bones on the pavement, a panorama that could very well be described as the end of the world, something that caused a great shock between the group because even though they were aware of the state in which the current world was, they couldn't believe of the scale of destruction and chaos they contemplated, and even the most calm and inexpressive students like Togami, Celeste, Sakura and Kirigiri showed confusion.

On the other hand, for Mukuro the scene was oddly familiar as it made her remember the war zones in which she fought in the Middle East and Africa during her time as a member of the fearsome paramilitary group known as 'Fenrir'.

"Hey everyone... This must be a bad joke..." Ishimaru Kiyotaka, the _Super High School Level Member of Discipline Committee_ said while feeling overwhelmed by the horrible landscape.

"Eeeeeek! T-this is a lot than it was told to us!" The famous novel writer Toko Fukawa stuttered nervously.

"My family... My friends..." Sayaka Maizono expressed horrified while on the verge of crying, as well as Aoi Asahina and Chihiro Fujisaki who almost collapsed due to shock.

"T-THE ALIENS WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE APOCALYPSIS! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Hagakure screamed in panic as he placed hold his head covered by his long dreadlocks.

Annoyed with the loud scandal the clairvoyant was making, a furious Mondo Oowada grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and tightened his fist in front of him threatening to beat the shit out of him if he didn't shut up, although it did not have much effect on him as he continued to scream in panic.

"Classmate Owada don't resort to violence!" Ishimaru ordered the leader of the gang known as the "Crazy Diamonds" while trying to restrain him with Leon's help.

_"_We are now in some scenario taken directly from_ Resident Evil_ or some movie or series about zombies!" Hifumi Yamada, or better known as the Super High School Level Fanfic Creator (although the title of Super High School Level Otaku would fit him better) commented while sweating copiously.

"The world is in a state much worse than i imagined..." Ogami Sakura known as the Super High School Level Martial Artist expressed with notable concern in her face instead of her habitual impassive expression of calmness.

Meanwhile, Mukuro just remained silent, however after seeing the reactions of her classmates she began to experience a sense of guilt inside her for the event known as _The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History, _or simply known as _The Tragedy_, which originated precisely at Hope's Peak Academy one year ago. The young soldier then wondered why she was experiencing this feeling of guilt for the first time, which she never had until this precise moment regarding her important collaboration in Junko's evil plan to induce despair in the whole world, earning her to be known together along Junko as the infamous _Despair Sisters_.

Although Naegi was also in shock and overwhelmed by the situation in which the world was right now, he decided to not give up and spread his optimism to all his classmates after looking that most of them were on the brink of falling into despair.

"Listen everyone! We can't fall into despair, we can't lose hope, while it exists i'm sure the world can get out of this!" The luckster exclaimed with great determination to everyone who inmediately after his speech began to experience a strange and indescribable feeling of hope that became a ray of light piercing through the sheer darkness, and even Mukuro, a now former member of _Ultimate Despair_ got thrilled by the young man's words.

"Naegi-kun..." A light blush appeared on the cheeks of the freckled girl just as she watched him while feeling inspired by the boy for whom she developed feelings during the two years they were classmates, as the brown haired was the only student of the 78th class who smiled at her, and even made friends with her despite her loner and cold outside demeanor.

"Naegi is right, if we fall into despair then it would be the end for us and our loved ones." Kirigiri seconded her classmate who got surprised by the positive reaction his speech caused on all his classmates.

"But what can we do with the world in these conditions?" Questioned with uncertainty Chihiro Fujisaki, a delicate-looking boy who secretly dressed as a girl because of the bullying he was subject in junior high school, causing him to suffer from a great lack of self-confidence.

"First thing we need to do is find a safe place and then contact the Future Foundation." The now pink haired replied.

"The Future Foundation? Mmh... is it some kind of organization or something?" Asked confused the voluptuous Super High School Level Swimmer, Asahina Aoi.

"Indeed, the Future Foundation is an organization created by former teachers and alumni from Hope's Peak Academy in order to combat the despair caused by my sister and her followers, as well as to take charge of the world's restoration."

"And will this so called 'Future Foundation' going to help us?" Byakuya Togami enquired the young soldier in a skeptical way.

"Looking at the current state of the world and the feat of having managed to escape with life from the game of mutual killing that was going to take place at Hope's Peak Academy is almost a given." The girl explained to the heir who believed her since what she told was logical to him.

"But what will become of you when the Future Foundation finds us, Ikusaba-san?" A concerned Naegi asked to his classmate.

".."

Mukuro omitted to say something knowing very well that said organization would kill her or interrogate her through torture because of her key role in the origin of _The Tragedy_.

"If there's any problem with the Future Foundation, we'll take care of convincing them, right guys?" Makoto exclaimed after noticing the slightly troubled expression of the young woman, which led to the rest of the class to encourage the girl who had helped them to escape, with the exception of Fukawa who still didn't completely trust her. Meanwhile, Byakuya reiterated to Mukuro that if they managed to get out safe of their current situation he'd consider advocating for her as the new head of the reborn Togami empire.

"Thank you everyone, but for now we have to keep moving away..." The girl thanked the words of support from Naegi and the rest, although within herself knew that it was going to be virtually impossible because the leaders of the Future Foundation wouldn't show any mercy to someone who was the right hand of the main architect behind _The Tragedy. _However, thanks to Makoto's words the young soldier was totally determined to get her classmates into safety, restore their memories, and end up personally with all the despair that her dear little sister spread to the world, no mattering what it might happen to herself.

With lifted up spirits the students continued on their way walking through the streets in which a tense calm transpired, the group then noticed that after all this time they've been walking the streets these were completely deserted so they asked Mukuro about the reason of it, to which she explained them that it was due to the fact they were in the area known as the _Ground Zero of Despair,_ a zone outside of Hope's Peak Academy where the first riots and violent acts took place during _The Tragedy _making said area to become unhabitable and later abandoned, however the young woman adviced everyone to stay on alert.

As the afternoon was beginning to fall, the potential dangers would increase greatly during the night so Mukuro told her classmates to hurry up to find a place to spend the night.

Suddenly, at the distance, the group heard noises of engines coming at full speed towards their direction.

"We need to hide." The soldier ordered to her classmates as they ran into an abandoned store.

A couple of blocks away the group sighted three Jeep-type vehicles that stopped besides a commercial complex and of which a group of approximately ten suspicious-looking men descended to a store while a couple of them stood out guarding.

"There's nothing here!" One of the men yelled at his companion.

"Are they be looking for us!?" The baseball player asked a little nervous as he watched the group of men entering and checking the inside of residences and shops in the area.

"W-we have to escape or they'll kill us all!" Exclaimed the _Super High School Level Clairvoyant _once again in panic to everyone's annoyance especially of Mondo who was held once again to avoid punching him at the request of his classmates.

"Calm down." The soldier spoke to everyone in order to avoid her classmates to panic, while also contemplating the possibility that they could take the vehicles to get away faster from the area.

After observing the group of men for a few seconds, Mukuro noticed that they weren't wearing monokuma masks or weapons of high caliber, so she deduced at least they weren't despair followers sent by Junko, nonetheless after analyzing their behavior she intuited the men were opportunistic looters looking for abandoned things of value to sell them to other survivors at exorbitant prices.

"Let me go first" Ikusaba said in a stoic way knowing that the situation could become dangerous, but that due to her fighting skills she shouldn't have any problems with a bunch of looters.

"Do you intend to go alone?" Asked Naegi somewhat worried for his classmate.

"Yes, by being disguised as Junko i will try to deceive them and wait for them to lower their guard, but if something goes wrong i can take care of all of them, so don't worry." The freckled girl reasurred the boy that gave her a second chance in life after risking his own life to save her.

"Are you really going to be okay, Ikusaba-san?" The hazel-eyed boy questioned again.

"I'll be fine..." The young soldier replied as she turned around to prevent Naegi from seeing the light blush that appeared on her cheeks knowing that he cared a lot for her well-being.

"C'mon Naegicchi! She confronted and destroyed dozens of Monokuma bears without receiving any wounds of consideration!" The clairvoyant expressed while smiling and relaxed, a clear contrast to his state of panic just some moments ago.

"Well, I guess you're right Hiro..."

"Miss Ikusaba, at least let us go in your help if things get problematic." The bulky fighter proposed to the young woman who was initially reluctant to have her classmates involved, but in the end she agreed to their insistence as they felt indebted to her for helping them escape from the twisted game of mutual killing.

Moments later, the group organized a plan and those who were in better shape to fight like Leon and Mondo got in close positions, not without first arming themselves with a baseball bat with steel spikes and a huge steel bar, respectively. Sakura however decided not to use any weapon and only fight with her fists due to her code as a honorable warrior.

On the other hand, Togami strongly refused to participate in 'acts of barbarism', as well as Hagakure who decided to not fight due to cowardice, however he tried to excuse himself that he was suffering a stomachache, although everyone knew he was lying. Meanwhile, Ishimaru took responsibility for taking care of the rest of the group who awaited at the abandoned store.

As Mukuro slowly approached the looters she had to prepare channeling her performance as Junko that so many hours of practice took her to dominate, since she no longer had a script to follow now.

"OHAYOOO MINAAA!~" The young girl greeted in a effusive way imitating her younger sister while making her traditional pose of peace and love in front of the men who immediately recognized her.

"J-JUNKO CHAN?! Exclaimed the middle-aged men in unison, surprised by the sudden appearance of the Despair Queen, nickname by which Junko Enoshima was known among her fervent admirers.

"What has led you to us, Junko-chan!?" The looters excitedly asked to the charismatic girl.

"I decided to recruit new volunteers to help me bring more despair to this world~" The soldier exclaimed while striving her best to sound as close as possible as her younger sister with the intention of avoiding any suspicions about her true identity.

"Huh? Of course we will join your crusade for the total despair of this world Junko-chan! right boys?!" Exclaimed euphorically the leader of the group who got convinced by the influence of the beautiful girl.

"That's the spirit!~"

"Her appearance and behavior must be incredibly similar to her sister, as those men don't seem to even suspect that the Junko in front of them is not the real one." The lilac-haired detective pointed out after observing with attention at the young woman who also completely deceived them during the few days they spent together before their escape from Hope's Peak Academy.

"She's really taking her role seriously..." The Super High School Level Gambler said in an ironic manner.

_"Judging by their behavior it seems that they are just a bunch of wannabe fans of my sister, as they aren't completely consumed by despair yet, but I guess I'll have to keep asking them to get more information from where they come and what they planned to do..." _Mukuro theorized.

"By the way, what were you all doing in this place?" The fake gyaru asked feigning innocence to avoid suspicion.

"We've been here on our way to Towa City searching for goods, but in this sector we have only found rubbish and nothing of worth." The annoyed man said while catching the attention of the former member of Fenrir after the mention of the modern city founded by the billionaire Towa group, rival for many years of the Togami Corporation prior to its debacle.

"Oh, I see... And how are things in Towa City?"

"For what we have heard those bastards from Towa Corporation call themselves the 'World Saviours' for creating technology and weapons to combat despair." One of the looters replied.

However, Mukuro knew that this was totally false since the Towa group secretly mass-produced Monokuma units for Junko and her group of _Ultimate Despair_, receiving in exchange money, fame and protection from the latter thanks to their alliance.

"Oh, I see... But don't worry, despair will soon come to Towa City!"~ 'Junko' cheerfully exclaimed.

"That really sounds great, Junko-chan! By the way, could you help us to find the residential sector of this place? we are somewhat lost... "

"Sure, but in return you will have to help me with something i need, do you agree?"~ The girl asked with a mischievous smile at the same time she leaned forward to show a little more of her cleavage.

"Whatever you say, Junko-chan!" The aroused men accepted.

Then, the leader of the group immediately went for a map inside one of the vehicles, however right at that time on the radio were giving a report about the sudden interruption around two hours ago of the broadcast of the mutual killing between the students of class 78 in Hope's Peak Academy which was organized by Junko Enoshima. The radio hosts assumed that this event was probably sabotaged but did not confirm who or those who had perpetrated it, although they mentioned there were strong suspicions that it had been Junko's older twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, the Super High School Level Soldier.

After hearing this, the man suspected that the Junko that was with them wasn't the real one, so he quickly grabbed a gun from the inside of the vehicle and descended of it without trying to draw attention. However, as soon as Mukuro looked at him she realized by the body language of the man that he probably knew the truth, then in a twinkling of an eye her gaze became cold and without any expression, something that confused the men in front of her.

"Watch out Ikusaba-san!" Naegi exclaimed after watching the man stealthily carrying a weapon in his hand as he approached the girl, which confused the man and his companions by his sudden appearance.

"Huh, who's that boy!?" Asked bewildered the armed man who got distracted causing him to lower his guard.

Then, taking advantage of that moment of confusion, the soldier making use of her superhuman speed disarmed the looter by fracturing his arm in a fast movement to the astonishment of her classmates whom Mukuro warned them making a signal to prevent them from intervening.

"Hey, you're not Jun-! One of the looters couldn't finish the phrase as he got no time to react due to the blitzing speed of the female soldier who immediately knocked him with a flying kick right in the face.

Immediately, the rest of the men drew handguns and knifes with the clear intention of killing.

"Come here bitch!" Shouted one of the attackers as he and four of his companions carrying hunting knives surrounded the girl.

Then in a rapid succession of events, Mukuro easily dodged their attacks one after another as if she was moving in slow motion, then she snatched the knife from one of them and at a low angle slashed it horizontally causing deep cuts on the legs of the men causing them to fall to the ground badly injured and unable to get up.

"Damn it, stop moving!" A couple of attackers said frustrated as they tried to shoot the freckled girl who dodged his shots easily and showing off her superhuman reflexes, jumped several meters in the air to land right behind both, took their weapons and hit them in their heads with the grip of their weapons, leaving them unconscious in an instant.

"W-who is she or rather what is she!?" The last of the men standing panicked by the ease that the girl had left out of combat all of his companions, so he decided to run to one of the vehicles with the clear intention of escaping only to advance a few meters before being knocked down by Mukuro who punched him on the nape with a soft karate chop.

"HOW DARE YOU BETRAY OUR BELOVED QUEEN JUNKO!" Shouted out completely in anger the leader of the looters while he was badly wounded on the ground catching the attention of the female soldier who slowly approached him carrying one of the weapons she had taken from one of the attackers and without a word, aimed it directly to his head with the intent of intimidating him.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SHOOT ME NOW!" The man challenged who until recently was one of the most feared members of Ultimate Despair.

"Wait Ikusaba-san don't do it! Killing only brings more despair!" Naegi desperately exclaimed as he was looking at the young woman ready to end the life of the injured man, however Mukuro ignored him and pulled the gun's trigger and after that a burial silence followed.

"Ikusaba-san... why?" Whispered the chestnut with sadness and disappointment in his voice.

However, for the boy's relief after a few moments the man screamed in pain while twisting on the ground as he had only been wounded in a non-lethal way on one of his shoulders.

"AAAAHHHH! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" The man cried out without causing a reaction of the unfazed girl who only gave him an inexpressive but at the same time intimidating look before moving away from him and going back with the group.

As she was heading back to her classmates, Mukuro asked herself the motive that had led her to forgive the lives of all her attackers, since she always made sure without failing to finish of her target or whoever intervened, unless direct orders from her sister to not kill her objective, so she tried to convince herself that it had been because the looters didn't represent a danger to her, nonetheless she still continued to question whether it was to prevent her classmates from seeing the brutality she was accustomed in her life, or if there was another involved cause she wasn't aware of.

"Man, she's really tough." Mondo commented impressed after observing the brutal demonstration of speed, strength and reflexes of the girl who walked beside him without saying anything.

"Thank you for not killing that man Ikusaba-san man, you were really awesome!" Naegi expressed with a smile feeling relieved that his friend was safe and sound.

"N-Naegi-kun congratulated me for having followed his orders!" Cheerfully exclaimed within herself the young soldier accustomed to follow orders and who blushed in shyness, causing her to quickly avert her gaze from the boy, a reaction that could only be caused by both Junko and the lucky boy, although this time she was quite surprised to be congratulated because she was always called a 'disappointment' or insulted by her younger sister.

"Ikusaba-san?" A slightly blushing Naegi wondered about his classmate sudden change of demeanor as he was the only one who could see her adorable reaction.

"Quiet but dangerous, seems to be the kind of girl that young master Naegi likes." The plump otaku spoke as he adjusted his glasses.

"I suppose it's better to have her on our side than against us, don't you think Togami?" Celeste asked interested of knowing the opinion of the Super High School Level Heir.

"Hmph, as if I care about the acts of violence this dangerous terrorist commits. Although I recognize that she is the key to us being able to get out alive from this dreadful situation." The blonde answered with his usual tone of voice that showed an air of superiority in front of the others while smiling presumptuously.

"I-i still don't trust her! S-she's a very dangerous girl!" Fukawa stuttered after the words of the young man she had had a crush on him in a way that could well be classified as creepy, a comment that caught the attention of Yasuhiro Taeko, real name of Celeste Ludenberg.

"Oh dear, but you also have a dangerous personality." The gambler mockingly said in reference to Fukawa's twisted and psychotic dark personality known as 'Genocider Syo', while concealing a mischievous smile with one of her hands.

"S-Shut up, you gothic witch!" The girl with glasses exclaimed in anger, causing a giggle from the girl dressed as a lolita to Fukawa's further dismay.

The group then proceeded to reunite, not before taking the weapons, the map and the keys of the vehicles of the looters who could only watch with impotence as a bunch of high school students were taking everything from them while feeling the cold threatening stare from whom moments ago humiliated them.

Once organized, Mukuro decided to drive the first of the vehicles due to her experience with military vehicles, Mondo and Leon offered themselves to drive the other two vehicles, as the first despite being a biker had already drove a car with other members of his gang, while the second took a few driving lessons.

**_A few minutes later..._**

As the group of looters were getting up badly injured they cursed Mukuro for what she had done to them.

"That little girl and her friends are going to pay!"

"I'm going to cut that girl's throat personally!" Sentenced furiously another one.

After a short pause, the looters heard a macabre laughter followed by a red light that shone through the shadows of a dark alley in front of them.

"W-who's there!?" One of the looters asked frightened.

Seconds later, a small white and black bear came out walking gracefully with light steps.

"Upupupu... What a bunch of losers we have here, humiliated by one girl!" The bear emitted a loud laughter, provoking the ire of the men.

"What did you say, you bastard!?"

"I thought that maybe you could be of any use to me... But having observed getting your asses kicked by a girl you are nothing but worthless scum!"

"Don't mock us!" Exclaimed the leader of the looters who despite being injured intended to give a lesson to the apparently harmless bear.

"Oh Well, you asked for it..." The animatronic bear said as he shrugged off before pulling out a pair of sharp metal claws out of his paws and launched at them enjoying the cries of panic from the looters who were ripped apart with his powerful claws.

"AHHHHHHGH HAVE MERCY!" The last man alive screamed terrified on the ground and bleeding profusely for the inflicted wounds.

"I'll think of it for a second... NO!" Monokuma joked just before nailing his claws into the man's head, killing him instantly.

A few moments later, the creepy little bear was making small hops between the bodies of men as if he was playing, then after a short pause Monokuma turned around to focus his attention onto the distance.

"I see you're already losing your touch, freckles-chan... To have left these pathetic men alive isn't something you are used to do. I suppose your feelings for that boy have begun to make you weak and compassionate~" Monokuma said in a mocking tone as blood of an intense pink color dripped from his claws as he used the zoom of his bionic eye to focus on the young soldier whose cheeks were colored of a light tone of pink and smiling shyly since Naegi was sitting next to her in the co-driver's seat chatting cheerfully with Maizono, Asahina and Chihiro who were seated in the back.

"I wonder if you'll be able to stay on the boring path of hope or will end up succumbing to despair because of him.~"

"UPUPUPUPU! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" The monochromatic bear made a sinister laugh that echoed in the vicinity.

**_What fate does awaits to Mukuro on her path between Naegi's hope and Junko's despair?_**

* * *

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	2. Love is Hope but also Despair: Part I

-** Between Hope and Despair -**

**Chapter II: Love is Hope but also Despair**

**Part 1**

The fifteen students from Hope's Peak Academy who managed to escape from the Game of Mutual Killing were now in their way out of the abandoned area of the city known as 'Ground Zero of Despair' . However, a short time after getting on the vehicles they took from the looters, some of them began to experience symptoms like headache, dizziness, shortness of breath and eye irritation, which forced the group to stop their way in order to evalute their situation.

The group then reunited and discussed about the sick students who were the majority of them since the only ones who haven't experienced any symptoms yet or just one of them, were Mukuro, Leon, Sakura, Aoi, Mondo and Sayaka, individuals with good physical condition and who were either super athletes or used to intense physical activities. On the other hand, Naegi, Chihiro, Kirigiri, Yamada, Celeste, Hagakure, Ishimaru, Fukawa and Togami were already experiencing two or more of the aforementioned symptomps.

"We've been in the outside for too long and exposed to the polluted air." Mukuro told everyone gathered.

"Huh? But just a few hours have passed since we escaped from Hope's Peak Academy." Ishimaru commented while feeling a strong headache.

"Are you okay Fujisaki-san?" Mondo asked to the androgynous boy who was looking to have troubles breathing.

"I'-im okay, just a bit tired." The programmer assured to everyone, but it was clear he already was feeling most the effects of the pollution due to his fragile condition.

"The air quality in most of the world is so bad you can get sick in just a few hours, especially the ones who are in bad shape like Fujisaki-san and Naegi-kun." The girl with freckles said as she looked with worry at the boy who wasn't completely recovered from the wound he sustained earlier when he saved her from being skewed by the Spears of Gungnir.

"So that means we need to find a place with clean air like the school had, is that right?" The lavender haired detective inquired to the soldier.

Mukuro nodded as she explained how Hope's Peak Academy installed a complex ventilation system in the school building in order to mantain the air pure inside it after The Tragedy.

"It's just a matter of time everyone, including me, will begin to feel the effects of the contaminated air so we need to find a shelter right now." The former member of Ultimate Despair spoke as she began to felt pressured by the condition of her classmates knowning it could become worse in a matter of minutes, especially for the boy she had romantic feelings for.

"How are you feeling, Naegi-kun?" Sayaka asked to the luckster feeling concerned about his health.

"Well, aside from a terrible headache, pain on my chest and irritated eyes, i think i'll be fine.." The boy said with some trouble but who despite feeling sick, smiled at his dear friend making her feel relieved that he at least was as optimisic as always.

"What about you, Maizono-chan?" Naegi asked to the Ultimate Pop Idol.

"I'm feeling okay, just a light headache." The blue haired commented to the short boy who knew that despite not looking it at first glance, Sayaka had to make exercise regularly to stay fit in order to perform well in long extenuating concerts as part of her being a member of one of the most popular pop idol groups in the nation.

As Mukuro was beginng to felt somewhat jealous of Sayaka being all friendly with Naegi's during their conversation, she had to focus her attention on where to take her sick classmates as the position they were located just saw abandoned and buildings. However, the currently pink haired with pigtails spotted with her hawk eyes a drug store near the end of the street so she told everyone to wait for her since she thought of looking for medicine to relieve the symptomps of the sick students.

"Aren't you going to need any help with the medicines? What if you give us some potent drug or medicinal herb that make us allucinate with alien abductions or bizzare things like that?" Hagakure said with fear.

"Hiro, people are sick! Woud you shut up, please!?" An angry Hina reprimanded the clarivoyant who told her that he was just asking a legimate question.

"I have basic medicine knowledge from my time as a member of Fenrir, as i had to learn to take care of wounded comrades in the wars i fought, so i won't have any trouble with searching for the correct medicaments."

The freckled girl then trusted the sick students to Oogami, Mondo and Leon to take care of them and told them to be on guard for possible threats before going at full speed to the drug store.

As soon as Mukuro entered the abandoned drug store, she noticed a familiar presence preying on her while hiding on the shadows.

"I know you are there, Monokuma. Show yourself..." The young woman coldly said without turning her back at the monochormatic bear who was sitting at on one of the store shelves like a stuffed teddy bear while watching closely at her with his glowing red eye.

"Upupupu~" The little bear laughed at the Ultimate Soldier who was not even slightly surprised by Monokuma's sudden appeareance as she recalled that some units were displayed in the city.

Just as Mukuro drew the knife she was carrying to destroy the animatronic being, the voice of her sister came from the loudspeaker of the Monokuma unit that made the soldier stop from inches of stabbing it.

"Whatcha' doing, sis!? Still playing the role of the badass dark heroine who saves the world while she finds love on her road to redemption!?" The Ultimate Fashionista and Analyst asked with a mocking voice.

"What do you want, Junko-chan?" Despite her sister's provocation, Mukuro mantained her usual stoicism.

"Onee-chan, just end this farce already and return to my side along all our dear classmates so we can have fun like the good ol' times as we watch how everyone's falls into despair!" Junko exclaimed with excitement.

"I don't intend to go back to you, not until i fulfill my mission of putting everyone safe and sound." Mukuro said with a voice devoid of any emotion.

"Are you still upset i tried to kill you for being such a disappointment?" The beautiful model bluntly asked to the soldier.

"Despite being loyal to you and always being there for you everytime you needed my help... you decided to betray me..." The former member of the organization named after a fearsome wolf from Norse mythology commented as she recalled the events that took place at Hope's Peak Academy where she was going to get impaled if not for Naegi's intervention.

"Get over it you dummy! It was just a prank!" Junko replied while doing a cute yet evil cat-like grin.

"You know it wasn't the case."

"Whatevs!" Exclaimed the True Ultimate Despair clearly annoyed by her elder sister answer.

"I still don't get it Junko-chan..." Mukuro muttered still feeling a mix of anger and sadness for her beloved sister betrayal. However, Junko just brushed off her twin sister words as she intentionally omitted to pay attention, making Mukuro to become even more depressed.

"By the way, how are things going on between that small herbivore boy and you, onee-chan?" The younger of the Despair Sisters asked Mukuro with the clear intention of caching the attention of her depressed sister by changing the subject of their conversation.

"W-what are you talking about, Junko!?" Nervously reacted the now former Ultimate Despair.

"You heard me Muku-nee! I know that despite telling you that he was close with Kiri-chan before their memories were erased, you are still head over heels for the guy since you can't keep thinking in him all the time, isn't that right?"

Mukuro averted her eyes to the floor trying to hide a light blush that appeared on her cheeks as she remained silent about her sister's question, recalling how perceptive her sister could be due to her skills as the Ultimate Analyst.

"I still don't know what did you see in him... He is short, weak and his only talent is luck of all fuckin' things!" Junko exclaimed with disappointment before sighing out loudly. "At least my Yusuke was hot and somewhat intelligent despite being a complete asshole!" The Despair Queen bragged about her former boyfriend Yusuke Matsuda, the Ultimate Neurologist, and who was killed by her own hands as she recovered her memories after becoming the amnesiac girl named Ryouko Otonashi for some weeks in an elaborated plan that involved erasing her own memories and then manipulating the neurologist feelings for her in order to cover for her acts as Junko Enoshima knowing she was under suspicion after the events surrounding the Mutual Killing of Hope's Peak Academy Student Council that ultimately led to the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy.

"What are you planning this time, Junko-chan?" Questioned the young woman.

"Nothing you dummy! As your little sis i'm just trying to help you before one of those girls steals him from you!" The blue eyed assured to her sister as she gave an smile that Mukuro immediately recognized as a schemming one.

"But you just told me he was close with Kirigiri-san..."

"I just told you a half-truth or half-lie as you want to look at it, Muku-nee~"

"But why?" Questioned the Ultimate Soldier with interest.

"Just messing with ya like always!" But the truth is that Kiri-chan despite being one of Makoto's closest friends, wasn't really interested in him in a romantic way since she only thought of him as a reliable and trusted friend." The former fashion model commented giving Mukuro a slight hope, although she still didn't fully trusted her sister words. "But... Given how rare was for her to make new friends given her cold and distante attitude towards others at the beginning of high school that's something remarkable." Junko added.

"I see..." The soldier then recalled how the detective was pretty similar to her at first during their time at Hope's Peak Academy since both were inexpressive and distant to others, however the difference between both was that Kyoko spent more time with all her classmates causing her to become a more social individual who formed bonds of friendship with almost all her classmates. Meanwhile, Mukuro rarely attended classes and when she did, only interacted with her younger sister and Naegi, making her an almost stranger to the rest of the class.

"But if you wait too much to tell your feelings to that boy, take for granted that she or that pop idol are going to make a move on him before you~" The pinkette playfully said once again to mess with her older sister thoughts, who knew very well that Junko was telling her all of this in order to manipulate her, nonetheless Mukuro within herself began to wonder about her sister words about the possibility of confessing to Naegi before it was too late.

"You surely have noticed how most of your classmates are already being all friendly and supportive of him despite not remebering anything, right?" It won't be too long after one of those two girls tries to get all lovey-dovey with him, that will surely cause you despair!" Exclaimed the fashionista with creepy excitement through the animatronic bear which made Mukuro remember the friendly exchange between the luckster and the blue haired singer.

"So.. How about you eliminate your competition and take Naegi-chan all for yourself!?"

"I already told you i won't longer do what you please, sis." Mukuro firmly spoke as she decided to ignore her younger sister manipulative comments.

"Love is a battlefield, you know it? You have to dispose of all your love rivals in order to win the heart of your beloved one!" Junko exclaimed with a wide smile while hidding her malicious intentions.

"I don't think that's how it works, Junko-chan..."

"Agh! You're so boring, onee-chan!" The pink haired cried out angrily.

"I'm sorry for that, Junko. But i won't follow anymore your wish of causing despair to Naegi and our classmates." The soldier said with determination.

"Sigh... As disappointing as always..." Junko told to her sister while feeling already bored of their conversation. Meanwhile, Mukuro remained silent while trying her best to avoid getting depressed by her sister insults.

"Anyways... I'm currently busy making some preparations for my next big plan so you do your best to conquer Naegi's heart before it's too late, okay?~"

A few instants later, Junko's voice stopped coming from Monokuma, followed by the bear which also turned off as well for the surprise of the Ultimate Soldier. However, just in case Mukuro disabled the monochomatic bear with a single stab through his bionic red eye.

"Junko-chan..." Troubled by her twin sister words Mukuro refused to keep getting manipulated by her. Nonetheless, it was hard for her to escape Junko's influence after all those years of being her right hand to help her achieve her plans.

**At Junko's control room inside Hope's Peak Academy...**

"I remember very welll you told me that you'd made sure to make me feel despair just before you escaped with everyone from Hope's Peak Academy, but two can play the same game, isn't that right Onee-chan!?" Junko exclaimed with a huge grin on her face as she was monitoring in complete excitement all the chaos and destruction caused by despair around the world. The leader of Ultimate Despair then felt even more joy knowing that her disappointing elder sister was going to fail miserably with her feelings towards Naegi since she had practically zero experience in love. Not too mention Junko was confident even without the use of her analytical skills, that Makoto Naegi was never going to fall for an ugly, smelly, and disappointing girl like her sister who on top of that was a dangerous criminal wanted dead by the whole world for being one of the main responsibles of The Tragedy and a traitor of Ultimate Despair, which would cause the soldier to fall into despair for being rejected despite all she has done for him so far, making her turn against Naegi and the rest of the class 78.

"I really can't wait to see her face full of despair after she gets her heart completely broken by the boy she risked her own life to save him!" The young woman expressed with arousal while an evil smirk drew on her face.

**Back at Class 78 current location...**

A few minutes later, Mukuro returned back with the medicines to treat the symtomps of her fellow classmates who were beginning to get worried for her since she delayed a bit more than expected.

"I had some troubles finding the correct medicines since it was too dark in there..." Mukuro lied about her encounter with a Monokuma and the conversation with her sister in order to avoid causing further problems to the group since most of them weren't in condition to get worried.

"That's good to know, i was going to rush to your aid since we were beginning to fear you were into danger, miss Ikusaba." Sakura said relieved to which Mukuro thanked her for their worry.

"You will feel better but the symptomps will appear once again in a couple of hours approximately if we stay outside." The soldier told to the sick students after personally handling them the medicine to each one, Naegi being the last one.

"Thanks for the medicine Ikusaba-san!" The brown haired happily thanked Mukuro despite still feeling sick However, the soldier avoided to make eye contact with the luckster who noticed that she looked distraught since her return.

"Everything's okay? Naegi asked to his friend as he was sure something was troubling her.

"Ah, yes... I'm fine..." Mukuro assured him, however that wasn't the case since the words that her younger sister told her a few moments ago still echoed in her mind.

"Well, if something bothers you don't be afraid of telling me, okay?" A concerned Naegi said causing a light shade of red to appear on Mukuro's cheeks, her eyes to shine and her heart beat faster due to the worryness the luckster had for her despite him being currently wounded and sick.

"T-thanks.." Shyly answered the girl to the boy who was still oblivious about her feelings.

"S-so cute." Naegi thought within himself after looking at Mukuro's reaction which once again could only be witnessed by him.

Instants later, as Mukuro was watching the lucky student preparing along their classmates to ride the vehicles and leave the area in search for a shelter, she recalled her sister's words about the perfect oportunity for her to confess her feelings before Sayaka or Kyoko made a move on him. But then she backtracked the idea since Naegi probably would think of her as nothing more than a friend, since she wasn't as beautiful as the lavender haired detective nor friendly and charismatic like the famous pop singer.

"Why would Naegi-kun feel anything but pity for a horrible girl like me who caused so much despair to this world..." Mukuro thought as she blamed herself for the missed opportunity she had of telling him how she felt about him during the two years they spent together at Hope's Peak Academy, making her to felt depressed about her lost chance.

After a minute of thinking what could've been if only she gathered enough courage to confess to Naegi, the Ultimate Soldier realized it wasn't the best moment to think about that and instead decided to focus on the current matter and prioritize the well-being of her classmates by searching for a shelter where to pass the night safe from the dangers that would appear once the darkness of the night felt upon them.

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_**Author's note:** __Hello again dear readers! I want to ask you if you liked Mukuro's portrayal from last chapter? Was it on point or was she OoC? I hope i'm doing it okay since i believe Mukuro was one of the most interesting and deepest characters not only from the first game but from the whole franchise. She really deserved better, but sadly she was removed too early from the story (thank god DR: IF exists) and to be honest i didn't liked her portrayal in the DR3 anime, although almost all characters were shafted with both Future and Despair sides being underwhelming in several aspects IMHO._

_And t__hanks for all your favs and follows. I really appreciate them!_

_Also feel free to leave constructive critics, suggestions or just comment if you enjoyed this fic :)_

**_Thanks for reading!_**


	3. Love is Hope but also Despair: Part II

**\- Between Hope and Despair -**

**Chapter II: ****Love is Hope but also Despair **

**Part 2**

As the dying sun began to fall over the sky, the fifteen students from class 78 continued their way looking for a safe place were they could be away from the dangers that came out during the night.

Just as they were reaching the outskirts of the city, Togami recognized the area and told Mukuro and Naegi by the radio frequency to stop the vehicles since he wanted to check the map to confirm if they were close to one of his family properties.

"If i remember correctly, one of my family's properties is located around here." The Ultimate Affluent Progeny said as he pointed at the map on a location around two miles north ahead of them.

"Are you sure Togami-san?" Naegi asked not recalling mention about said property by the heir during their time together at Hope Peak's but still trusted his classmate.

"Yes, i spent some weekends in that house before entering Hope's Peak Academy." Byakuya replied with confidence.

The group then decided to drive there going through a private road, and as they were on their way through the countryside, everyone spotted a huge mansion of three levels and dozens of rooms 'hidden' behind a small forest of giant pines on top of a hill.

However as they got closer, Byakuya noticed the entrance to the and the perimeter of the mansion were forced through by sheer force.

"I was confident that all the security measures we usually took would keep intact this property, but looks like it wasn't the case..." The blonde said slightly confused to which Mukuro told him that during The Tragedy security measures like electric fences, barbed wires and even walls of several meters high didn't inhibited people from trying to force their way to steal, kill or cause chaos.

The group of teenagers then descended from the vehicles at the parking lot next to the property surrounded by several vandalized fountains and an enormous garden which grass and decorative trees were now overgrown due to being abandoned for quite some time.

"Wow it's really huge!" Chihiro exclaimed with surprise.

"It's not even one of my family's biggest properties in the country, let alone in the world. We even own enormous castles in East Europe." The blonde billionare bragged.

"Even castles, really!?" Asked Maizono in complete awe as she imagined herself being a princess from fairy tale inside one during medieval times.

"Dude, that's sounds awesome!" Kuwata got excited as well imagining himself as a knight.

"Did you have any handsome vampire butlers by the way?" Celeste asked with interest to Togami who cringed at her creepy question.

"Vampire butlers? Just like the shounen ai anime known as _Black Butler, _popular among fujoshi." The Ultimate Fanfic Creator commented.

"Shut up fatty, nobody asked about your deranged hobby." The gambler told to the plump otaku in a despective way.

"It's not a hobby, it's a way of life!" Hifumi huffed angrily at Celes who decided to not engage in a pointless conversation with the otaku.

_"T-those two are so weird!"_ Fukawa though that both students had something really wrong inside their heads, although the novelist really wasn't the one to talk about 'weirdos'.

While the whole group gathered outside, Mukuro went first to give a quick check to the inside.

"It's clear." The soldier dressed as a gyaru told her classmates after she came back a few minutes later just to confirm the mansion has been abandoned for a long time.

As the students went inside they saw fallen chandelures broken on the floor, as well as paintings, statues, vases and other valuable pieces of art and furniture that were either stolen or severly damaged by acts of vandalism.

"As i suspected rioters and thiefs stole and destroyed everything in sight." Togami said as he observed there were traces of dry blood on the carpets and messages on the walls written with graffiti about how the rich opressors had to pay with their lives for their sins.

"Barbarians..." The heir whispered as he tried his best to hide to his anger for such acts of violence against his people and property.

"So.. what now?" After some minutes of waiting the Ultimate Swimmer asked already feeling hungry like the majority of her classmates since they haven't eaten anything since leaving Hope's Peak Academy.

"It must be here..." Togami commented while he was carefully inspecting the walls of the main hall until he found a hidden switch with the crest of his family. "Hmm... looks like it's still functional..." The young man whispered as he placed his hand on the switch from one of the walls that revelaled a facial and pupil recognition scanner that Togami immediately activated with a voice command giving the order to open a reinforced metal door on the floor that revealed a passage that led everyone to a staircase.

"Follow me." Byakuya told his classmates as he went ahead.

The lights then turned on as everyone walked down the stairs to a secret basement of big dimensions which consisted on a large living room, a storage room with food, water and medicines, a laundry, two bathrooms, a private study and even a small cantina with a friggo bar and a giant TV leaving everyone startled by the luxury of said space.

"Woah!" Most of the students exclaimed in unison.

"All the properties of my family have an special structure like this to serve as a refugee in case something like a natural disaster or a nuclear war ocurred."

"But isn't it too much for just a bunker?" Kirigiri inquired Togami.

"Obviously not, when i was a child my grandfather as the head of my family would always say "spare no expense" so it's going to have all the luxuries needed for me." The young man proudly said as he crossed his arms being the new head of the Togami Empire.

"Waaah i was dying of thirst!" The Ultimate Swimmer said after she took a sip of fresh water she took from the friggo bar, followed by the majority of her friends who picked sodas, with Hagakure even grabbing a can of beer since he was already legally allowed to drink alcohol.

"I can't believe those belong to my idol!" Kuwata exclaimed as he was admiring a cap, a bat and baseball autographed by Ichiro Suzuki, baseball star that played several season in the Major Leagues in America, as he was his biggest fan and a role model that he aspired to become as a baseball player when he was a small child.

"Don't touch anything, all of those articles belong to my father." Togami said about the valued articles that belonged to his father who was a huge coleccionist of sports historic related goods he won in auctions.

"'I'm not mechanic but it seems the power generator still works despite being without use for so long, but i don't think it would sustain more than a week since it hasn't received proper maintenance..." Chihiro who was beginning to feel better as the medicine was taking effect and the air was clean inside the basement, told everyone after inspecting.

"You heard it, don't waste electricity on pointless things or else the ventilation system will turn off and we'd once again forced to be outside." Togami adviced to all his classmates.

Then, the heir tried to communicate using the private communication system inside with family relatives, servants and executives from Togami enterprises with no success. "I can't believe everyone from my family and company is gone..." The blonde muttered with frustration.

"B-Byakuya my love! Y-you still have me!" Fukawa proclaimed with embarassment to the 'prince' of her fantasies, and who immediately rejected the novel writer telling her to get lost, unknowingly making her more infatuated for him.

Sayaka, Chihiro, Asahina, Sakura and Ishimaru who offered his help despite not being too good at cooking went to prepare the dinner for everyone with the stored food they found.

Leon, Hagakure and Mondo were relaxing by drinking sodas and beer on the small cantina with Makoto who declined to drink since he wasn't thirsty. Kyoko and Mukuro remained silent in one corner of the living room just watching their classmates.

Meanwhile, Celeste who had a smirk on her face while holding the 'Queen' of a deck of cards she carried with herself at everytime while inviting to her classmates to gamble in a poker game. However, only Hifumi was the only interested in wanting to play with the gothic lolita to her dismay.

"This isn't the time to be having fun." Togami said annoyed by the relaxed behaviour of several of his classmates.

"Don't be such a party pooper, Togacchi!" A relaxed Hagakure who was beginning to feel drunk said as he placed his hand on Togami's right shoulder while holding a can of beer.

"Get away from me, dirty commoner." The heir said in disgust by the clairvoyant alcoholic breath.

"It's been a long day for us, man. Let us at least relax after all the shit we had suffered today!" The orange haired baseball star protested.

"Didn't you all heard what i said and what part of did you not understand?"

"C'mon, dude! We were almost forced to kill between us in a twisted game, discovered that our memories from the past two years were erased, and then the twin sister of the mastermind saved us by facing dozens of bear robots that tried to kills us with explosions, we even inhaled contaminated air for hours!"

"Like i care. Rememeber i'm the owner of this place so i can kick all of you from this place anytime i want." Coldy said the blonde as he adjusted his glasses in typical Togami fashion.

"Hey! stop being an asshole with everyone here!" Aoi furiously demanded.

"Hina, don't be rude." The Ultimate Martial Artist called 'The Ogre' by Hiro reprimanded the swimmer who just puffed her cheeks for being scolded. The buff woman then turned her attention to the proud heir. "I appreciate what are you doing for us, but the fact you are allowing us to stay here don't give you the right to insult everyone present." Sakura said with respect but with a firm voice.

"As long as you're alive you must do what i say for giving you a safe shelter with all the acommodations in this decadent world." Byakuya retorted to all his classmates while having a scornful expression on his face.

"I-i understand what you meant Togami-san, but you don't have to be so mean with all of us..." The Ultimate Programmer was sad about the young man rude words.

"Our classmate Togami-san is right, everyone! We shouldn't be having fun given the current state of the world, we have rules to follow now!" Ishimaru expressed in order to sort the tense atmoshpere it has been building up recently, but no one paid attention to him except for Togami making him feel ignored.

"Thank you, whatever your name is... Finally someone with common sense among all these peasants." The young man once again said in a despective manner.

"M-my name is Ishi-!" The Ultimate Moral Compass was cut short by Owada who despite trying his best remain calm during all the tense conversation, being called a peasant was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Who did you call 'peasants', pretty boy!?" The leader of the fearsome gang know as the 'Crazy Diamonds' irritated by the rude comments and arrogant attitude of Togami, slowly approached until getting right in front of him while preparing his fists with the intention of punching his smug face. Meanwhile, everyone else was looking nervously how the conflict was escalating quickly.

"Obviously to all of you, and let me tell you i don't intend to dirty my hands in any way against the likes of you, now get out of my way." The young man with glasses firmly said as he dedicated a defiant look to the short-tempered biker.

"T-the likes of me!?" Mondo frowned upon Togami's comment.

"You heard me, delinquents like you who until the events of The Tragedy were nothing but the worst scum of the society."

"YOU ASKED FOR IT, RICH BOY!" Completely angered by Byakuya's provocation, the biker decided to give him a beating he would remember for the rest of his life.

"Classmate Owada please stop picking fights!" The Hall Monitor shouted with determination making Mondo to stop his fist just centimeters away of punching the blonde who didn't flinched despite being a couple inches away from being hit right on his face.

"Tch. You are really such a fuckin' pain in the ass, you knew that?" Mondo angrily said to Ishimaru as he released Togami who just ignored what happened before telling everyone he was already tired of wasting his time with people whose commands fell on deaf ears and told them to do whatever they wanted.

Still angered, Mondo procceded to rant against Ishimaru for being stopped once again by the guy who always tried his best to keep away his classmates to get involved in acts that broke the rules even though they weren't in the school anymore.

"I won't allow any acts of violence between fellow classmates in a school enviroment, classmate Owada! The son of a Prime Minister said passionately only to remember they weren't in school anymore. "I mean, a safe enviroment... i guess." The young man ended his speech with some confusion.

"Well i don't care, so mind your own troubles, Mr. Enforcer of Rules!" Growled the fierce gang leader.

"Guys, guys calm down!" Naegi desperately exclaimed while trying to calm both students with no avail.

The two then continued to have a heated discussion back and forth which forced Leon and Naegi to separate both students with no signs of stoping their quarrel. However, Sakura finally put an end to their conflict with an intimidating aura making both to feel completely scared of her forcing both to made peace.

"As expected from the world's strongest woman!" Asahina cheerfully said of her friend.

"Everyone, please. This is not the moment of being against each other. I know we all had a rough day and we went through so much, so be more patient with each other." Naegi begged to all his classmates who seemed to be convinced by his pleads.

"Fine... You people are really insufferable." Arrogantly spoke the heir as he left to his father's private study while being stalked by the prodigy writer next to him.

"What are you looking at, you disgusting creepy woman?" Togami asked with disdain to his loyal admirer who instead of getting depressed, blushed and enjoyed being insulted by the boy who she was attracted for his cold and disdaining demeanor towards her.

Before going to rest from a long day in which Makoto wondered if his classmates could get along once again between them despite their recent scuffles. He, Kirigiri and Leon went to the vehicles parked next to the mansion to get the weapons and the equipment they took from the looters. As he was inspecting the vehicle, Makoto saw some military rations on the trunk of the jeep which he immediately remembered about the freckled girl, noticing she disappeared from sight several minutes ago.

"By the way, has anyone seen Ikusaba-san? I haven't seen her since we found the basement. " The brown haired asked to his companions.

"She went to inspect the rooms of the mansion and to keep an eye on possible outside threats before the night comes." Kirigiri said as she recalled a brief exchange she had with the soldier in which the detective questioned her where she was leaving when everyone else was distracted during the discussion with Togami.

"Oh, i see..."

"She also told me to not look for her in while she's on watch duty, we could get sick once again, specially you." The young woman said.

_"Ikusaba-san truly worries for me at every opportunity..." _The boy thought while feeling concerned about the girl who lately was distant with everyone even with him despite telling her to talk with him if something was bothering her.

"Is anything troubling you about her?" Asked the perceptive young detective after looking at the pensive face of the Ultimate Lucky Student.

"Well... to be honest sometimes it can be hard to decipher what Ikusaba-san is going through..." The hazel-eyed boy said as he thought about the girl who was inexpressive and kept a cool attitude most of the time, but who blushed and even became shy around him. "However, i recently noticed she's being feeling down..." He added.

"Is that so? Then you should talk to her directly."

"Yeah... I just want to thank her in name of the group for all the things she has done so far for all of us." Naegi said as he scrached the back of his head in a signal of modesty.

"What do you think about it Kirigiri-san?" Naegi asked to the stoic young woman who after a short pause of silence gave her thoughts. "My opinion on the matter isn't really important, but as you said if not for her we couldn't have escaped all of us alive and made it this far." The mysterious detective spoke while feeling gratitude to the girl who in some ways was so similar, yet so different to her.

"By the way, how are you feeling?" The purple eyed asked to the short boy with the purpose to know his current health status.

"A bit better, thanks!" Exclaimed the luckster.

"Good to know." Kirigiri said with a light smile.

Unbeknownst to them, Mukuro was observing both with her trained sight from the window of one of the rooms on the third floor, believing both were flirting as her sister's words once again began to flow her thoughts about how Naegi could be taken from her before she even had the opportunity to make a move on him.

_"They are already comfortable with each other..."_ The soldier spoke within herself as she began to experience a sting on her chest just were heart was located, feeling jealousy and wondering why despite knowing Naegi for two years she wasn't able to talk with him without getting shy and anxious around him. Meanwhile, Sayaka and Kirigiri were already getting along with him with such naturality despite not remembering anything for the past two years they spent together as classmates.

_"Being in love and not being able to gather the courage to tell to the one you love while watching others get closer and__ unable to do anything about is truly despair-inducing..."_ The girl said in her thoughts with a depressed expression as her whole being was getting overwhelmed by negative emotions.

"Maybe i should have died back then..." The soldier muttered with sadness as couple of tears fell from her cheeks while remembering from her sister how love can easily lead to despair.

_Is Mukuro going to fall into despair or is she going to be again in the path of hope with the help of a certain luckster?_

_Find out next chapter!_

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed it! _

_See you next chapter my fellow readers._


	4. A Promise of Love and Hope

**\- Between Hope and Despair -**

**Chapter IV:** **A Promise of Love and Hope**

**Two years ago at Hope's Peak Academy...**

It was lunch time at the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy where the talents from across the country were gathered in the large school cafeteria including the students from class 78 who joined the school program a couple of months ago.

A certain luckster was trying to find a seat in the crowded dinning hall until he saw a free bench where a girl of short black hair, light purple eyes and freckles was silently eating her lunch alone.

"Hello! Ikusaba-san, right?" The boy asked to his classmate who just gazed silently at him.

The girl then identified the boy as Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student, an obvious non-threat for her, as he wasn't really nothing beyond 'average' in all the extent of the word, from his looks to his grades and physical traits, well except for his height since he was shorter than most of the boys of his age.

"C-can i sit with you? All the other seats are taken..." The young man asked while reaching the back of his head with one of his arms as he felt the deep stare from the girl causing him to become a little nervous.

After a short pause of analyzing him, the freckled girl nodded to the boy who felt relieved the Ultimate Soldier agreed while recalling since their first day of classes at Hope's Peak Academy that Mukuro was a girl of few words as she only spoke when it was strictly necessary.

"So are you alone? where's your twin sister?" Makoto asked with curiosity.

"She's busy with her group of friends." The black haired replied with her usual stoicism as her younger sister, Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashion Girl was always surrounded by her inner circle of friends comprised of other popular students and fervent admirers.

"Oh, i see..." The boy expressed as he noticed girl didn't seem to be enjoying her time at school.

"Well... at first it was hard for me to make friends since i only knew Maizono-san, but with time i bet you can also make new friends, Ikusaba-san." Makoto told to the stoic girl trying to break the ice between them.

"..." Mukuro didn't said anything as she was aware that unlike Junko, her social skills were mediocre at best, not to mention her reputation as a member of the fearsome mercenary group Fenrir and her cold attitude towards someone who wasn't her sister made people to ignore her or even to be scared of her.

"We can be friends if you want it." The boy proposed with an honest smile causing the freckled girl to wonder why someone wanted to have a friendship with a girl like her as she never had any real friends, not even her Fenrir comrades.

"T-thanks." The young woman replied with a light blush on her cheeks as she began to felt confused for the boy words about wanting to have a friendship with her.

Both students then continued to eat breakfast in silence as Mukuro was questioning for the possibles causes the short boy in front of him wanted to be friends with her, was it for trying to get key information on her and sister about the secret plan to cause despair? or another secret motive she wasn't aware of? Nonetheless, those suspicions stopped to float inside her mind as she confirmed he wasn't a threat based on his friendly and kind attitude. Meanwhile, Makoto on the other part thought Mukuro's distinctive freckles around her nose, short black hair that reached slightly past the back of her neck and her light purple eyes made her cute in a peculiar way, as he wasn't feeling uncomfortable by the soldier silence since he didn't wanted to pressure her to talk with him as he understood that Mukuro wasn't accustomed to speak with other people besides her younger sibling.

"Well, i hope we can eat together again, Ikusaba-san!" The lucky student exclaimed with happiness as he finished his lunch before lifting from his chair.

"O-okay " The girl shyly replied as she felt intrigued once again by the boy who wasn't afraid of her and instead wanted to become her friend despite her shady background and distant personality.

"Onee-chan let's go! I already got bored of all those annoying ass kissers!" The voluptuous gyaru expressed as she arrived to the scene with her usual loud and indolent attitude as her elder sister was lost in her thoughts while watching with attention at the luckster getting out from the dinning hall, something that immediately caught her attention.

"Huh? Did you ate with that lame small guy?" Junko inquired to her twin sister while surprised she spent time with other than herself despite her cold and asocial behaviour, specially with a loser like Makoto Naegi, although she decided to not give it too much importance, for now.

"Y-yes." The purple eyed accepted with some hesitation.

"You truly are a lost case... Did you know that?"

"Sorry Junko-chan..." The girl apologized to her beloved sister as she followed her out of the enormous cafeteria.

Now let's go back to bore ourselves to death in class!" The pink haired fashionista exclaimed as she sighed loudly, mainly because her real talent as the Ultimate Analyst made academic instruction extremely boring to her.

As both sisters walked through the corridors of the academy, Mukuro continued observing with interest at the young boy from the distance laughing and having a good time with several classmates before entering the classroom.

"Friends..." Mukuro muttered with a soft voice and a light blush while looking at Makoto's genuine and innocent smile as his words about wanting to become her friend echoed in her mind, unaware that her future interactions with the luckster would lead her to fall in love with him and eventually save his life after he sustained a gruesome wound as he saved her from getting killed in a day their fates were going to change.

**Back to the present day.**

As the darkness of the night began to fall over the landscape, the last rays of light of the sun were illumitating the rooms of the huge mansion. Mukuro was depressed by looking at Naegi and Kirigiri with the wrong idea they were flirting with each other making her feel despair. The soldier who was emotionally at her worst didn't noticed the presence of a group of five men wearing Monokuma helmets approaching at her with stealth.

The group of men also known as 'despair zombies' were brainwashed people put on a "Mono-helmet", a device secretly developed by Towa Group so they could be mind-controlled. However, without it, the wearer operated using their low instincts as their only purpose was to murder, rape and to cause overall chaos.

The young girl then heard steps from several men coming towards her direction, but as soon as she prepared to enter in combat unexpectedly saw something that resembled a grenade roll around her feet before a cloud of smoke filled the whole room.

"A gas grenade!?" Mukuro exclaimed as she rushed at full-speed out of the room while covering her mouth and nose to avoid inhaling the gas cloud. However, just a few moments after getting out of the room, her body began to began to fell numb to which she deduced that inhaled a small portion that was enough for her body to feel the effects of the gas to which Mukuro instantly knew it was chlorofom, a commonly used laboratory solvent previously used as an anesthetic during surgeries.

"Crap. I let my guard down again!" The soldier knew very well about the use of biochemical weapons during armed conflicts, to which she and her Fenrir comrades always prepared against beforehand. However, this time around she was caught off guard without a gas mask.

The group of men immediately launched a simultaneous attack against the former member of Ultimate Despair who using the knife she was carrying tried her best to fend them off as she was beginning to feel dizzy, her vision to became blurry and her muscles to get weaker by the minute.

"I need to escape now." Mukuro said in her mind as she recognized that in her current condition she wasn't going to endure a long time fighting against the deranged men. However, one of the Monokuma men kicked the knife out of her hand and pushed her to the ground where she was quickly subjected by the other four, each grabbing one extremity of the girl.

"W-what are you intending to do to me!?" The girl inquired with anger.

Pinned down against the ground Mukuro tried to fight back to no avail since her body couldn't respond properly due to the effects of the chloroform.

Then she heard the men babble words like despair and traitor and a word that she knew very well what the men intended to do to her as a panic sensation began to envelope her being.

Rape.

She knew rape happened in wars since ancient times. Nevertheless, she never really thought about it since she was untouchable in the battlefield and her male comrades during her time in Fenrir never tried to do or suggest anything to her, aside from the occasional flirting that the soldier brushed off quickly with her stoicism.

"Tch, Let me go!" Despite her pleads the group of men with Monokuma helmets didn't listed to the soldier and began to take advantage of her current state by groping her small breasts.

"S-stop it..." The young woman felt humillated for having her whole body getting touched and unable to do anything since she was completely restrained.

"NO-NGMH!" Mukuro tried to scream before one man proceeded to cover her mouth with his hands as the two men who were holding her legs spread them in front of him while lifting her mini skirt in order to begin to slide her black underwear.

"Naegi-kun... I'm about to be violated..." The girl thought resigned as she closed her eyes preparing for the worst while feeling despair about the thought of being defiled against her will.

"Leave Ikusaba-san alone!" Naegi shouted as he appeared to the rescue of his friend.

"Run Naegi you aren't in condition to fight!" The freckled soldier worriedly shouted to the short boy as she managed to free the hands of the man from her mouth due to the sudden appeareance of the boy.

"I won't never abandon a friend in need!" The young man exclaimed with determination despite him being outnumbered, making the soldier to be admired of his desire to save her even with the odds against him.

As the Monokuma masked man rushed to attack Makoto, a baseball came flying through the air at an insane speed of around 160 kilometers per hour hitting the attacking individual directly on his helmet and knocking him in an instant.

"Yo Naegi! I went for backups as you told me!" The orange haired baseball star exclaimed as he arrived while swinging the bat he grabbed from Togami's basement that once belonged to his baseball idol.

Sakura immediately came into scene with a powerful flying kick that sent two of the monokuma masked men right into a wall incapacitating them temporarily. "Miss Ikusaba, we came as fast we could after Kuwata-san told us you were into trouble." The buff girl told to the soldier who felt relieved to be on her side instead of having her as an enemy since the martial artist was superior to her in close combat.

"Time to kick some asses!" Mondo exclaimed as he cracked his knuckles before punching another brainwashed man right in to the gut with a powerful hook.

As his friends were fighting against the group of Monokuma men. Makoto took advantage of the moment and rushed to Mukuro's aid who was trying to get up from the floor. Seeing her actual condition the young man proceeded lifted her on his arms

"Kyaah!?" The freckled girl squealed in awe as her cheeks got completely red for being carried like a princess by the boy she loved.

"Ikusaba-san, are you okay? Makoto asked to the girl whose heart was beating like crazy while trying her best to avoid eye contact with the luckster.

"M-my body is still unable to move since i'm still under from the effects of the gas." Mukuro replied shyly, something that made the young boy feel lucky of getting to see the fearsome Ultimate Soldier so delicate and vulnerable.

"She's really light..." Despite the noticiable height difference the young man thought the girl on his arms was as light as a feather.

"N-naegi-kun, your wound still isn't healed you shouldn't be doing heavy efforts." The elder from the Despair Sisters said remembering the injury he sustained for her sake.

"Ah right! I forgot! Just let me get you to safety."

As four of the men were knocked out by the three students of class 78, just one one of them stood up and took from his pockets a device that resembled a remote control.

"Watch out you two he's trying something!" Sakura warned to Leon and Mondo.

The last man standing then pressed the button from the control he was holding causing the helmets of the men to explode, killing all of them instantly for shock of the trio.

"Damn! That was brutal!" Leon exclaimed as the watched the bloody scene before his eyes.

"What a horrifying way of dying..." The buff martial artist said feeling confused by the man action.

"W-what the fuck just happened!?" A dumbfounded Mondo demanded for answers.

"It was a device created with the intention to kill the people who wore it in case they failed or just for fun by the one who controlled them." Mukuro told to the three as she was in Naegi's arms who despite the soldier worryness for him he still carried her.

The martial artist then offered to carry the soldier who got disappointed of herself for being saved twice in the day despite her reputation of being unstopabble and untouchable in the battlefield, but at the same time she felt a strange feeling of gratefulness and happiness for having been saved by the luckster and his friends.

The group then went back to the basement where the rest of their classmates was waiting them anxiously worried for their well being, told them about the horrifying events they just witnessed moments ago.

Mukuro then wondered if those men were specifically sent by Junko to attack her.

Everyone then went to sleep after a rough and stressful day not before securing the door of the basement and taking turns to be awake just in case something happened.

**The following day...**

Makoto woke up early in the morning feeling a bit better from his wound, then he remembered all the crazy events that took place yesterday before noticing Mukuro was gone so he decided to search for her. After some minutes of looking for her, he finally found her sitting on the edge of a balcony in the second floor with her wig and her blue contact lens next to her while lost in her thoughts after the day in which her life changed completely.

"She's beautiful..." Makoto thought as he looked at the girl whose locks of her short raven hair were flowing with the wind as she had a sorrowful look on her light purple eyes while watching at the horizon where the sun was just beginning to rise.

"Could you sleep well, Naegi-kun?" The girl asked to the brown haired as he sat next to her.

"Well... it was a weird to sleep on a basement for the first time, but i think i rested well since i'm feeling better than yesterday."

"I see..."

"How are you feeling, Ikusaba-san?"

"I'm okay..." Mukuro replied as the effects of the chloroform she inhaled were already gone.

After an uncomfortable silence, Mukuro gathered enough courage to finally confess her feelings to the luckster even if she knew she was going to be rejected.

"Hey, Naegi-kun. I... need to tell you something..." The black haired girl said still feeling a bit hesitant.

"What is it?" The boy asked with curiosity.

However as soon as she was going to tell him, the words couldn't come out from her tongue. The soldier got once again anxious and frustrated for not being able to spit out her feelings that she tried her best to hide for two years but resurfaced stronger than ever after the incidents that lead the luckster to save her life.

"I can wait if you are still not ready to tell me what is troubling you, Ikusaba-san." Naegi said with patience as he smiled to the girl trying her best to speak up with no success.

But instead of giving up. Mukuro grabbed Makoto's right hand and placed on her chest approximately around her exposed cleavage causing Makoto to become flustered and his characteristic ahoge to stood up.

"I-Ikusaba-san? W-what are you doing!?" The young man asked nervously.

"Can you feel my heart?" Mukuro asked with a soft voice while blushing.

"I-i can feel it beats really fast..." The Ultimate Lucky Student was still somewhat unsure about what his classmate wanted to tell him.

"I repressed those feelings for so long but have resurfaced since you saved me back then..." Mukuro said clarifying the things for our hero.

"I see... it was rather unexpected to me." A slightly confused Makoto told to the girl.

"You don't have to do anything about what i told you. I... just wanted to let you know since i couldn't hold these feelings any longer..."

The soldier was relieved she finally got the courage to tell her feelings, but still troubled for making the luckster feel pity for her.

"Ikusaba-san..."

"You must think i'm pretty pathetic for believing a monster like me deserves love after all the blood that flowed on my hands..."

After a short silence Makoto decided to cheer up the depressed girl.

"Ikusaba-san, the past can't be erased and the crimes you committed can't be easily forgiven as well... But, if there's something you can do from now is walk towards the future with hope in your heart, without completely forgetting the past and doing your best to make the world a better place, don't you think?" The young boy said as he smiled with honesty to the girl who got captivated once again by his smile.

"I know that my past will haunt me for my actions for the rest of my life... but as you said, I'm already decided to do my best to atone for my sins and get rid of the despair i caused, even if the whole world is against me." Mukuro reaffirmed the vow she made to her sister before escaping from Hope's Peak Academy.

Naegi was admired by the determination of the girl who despite her dark past and her reputation as a killing machine, was now optimistic for a opportunity to redeem herself and look for a brighter future, although he didn't agreed with her way of thinking of just doing it just by herself.

"I see... But you don't have to do it just you alone, you know it?"

"It was me who helped Junko unleash despair in this world, all of you don't have to be involved in any of this." The soldier spoke up with a serious expression.

"I want to help you Ikusaba-san! you're not the only one who is facing despair in order to make the world a better place. You're not alone in this!" The young boy retorted.

"Naegi-kun... Why do you keep supporting me despite a lot of horrible things i did in the past and was planning to do against all of you?" Mukuro asked feeling confused for his statement.

"Didn't i already told you i firmly believe everyone deserves a second chance in life despite their previous actions?" Makoto expressed with a firm voice.

Mukuro was touched by the determination of the young man who always believed in his ideals of seeing the best of people despite their background or past.

"Even your sister, Ikusaba-san." The Ultimate Lucky Student said.

"I appreciate your concern about my sister, but Junko is beyond salvation since she is the true incarnation of despair."

Makoto was shocked by the former mercenary statement.

"Even then... there's something we can do to free her from despair!" The hazel-eyed exclaimed still clinging to his ideal.

Despite Makoto's undying optimism and strong ideals. Mukuro perfectly knew that friendship nor love could never replace her younger sister desire to cause and enjoy despair, while also wishing deep down for things to having turned out different and wondering what would've happened if Junko was just a normal teenage girl instead of someone whose sole reason of existence was to inflict and enjoy despair at the cost of everything just to have fun from the chaos and unpredictability it caused since her analytical skills made almost everything in her life boring in a matter of seconds.

The girl then stopped thinking about the aformentioned possibilities and decided to cause her sister even more despair and when she would get bored of it. She was going to take all the despair she caused to her along with Junko's life as well, since she loved her dear sister and wanted to stop her from keep inflicting despair onto herself and the whole world by extent.

After a couple minutes of silence, the luckster noticed that Mukuro was still feeling a bit down and troubled. All he wanted was to make her feel better, so without thinking placed his hand on top of her right hand where her tattoo that identified her as a member of the group named after a norse mythological legend was already uncovered by the removal of foundation, causing the soldier to blush.

"Hey, Ikusaba-san... After this is all over, maybe you and me could... you know... try out a relationship?" The brown haired proposed with embarrasment as he humbly scratched the back of his head while speaking to the girl who got surprised as she wasn't really expecting Naegi to respond to her feelings.

"B-but aren't you interested in Sayaka Maizono?" Mukuro asked nervously after recalling the two were close in the past.

"Well... to be honest i had feelings for her since Junior High, but after some time of entering Hope's Peak Academy she only thought of me as a good friend since she and Leon got closer to each other due to their love for music during our two years together and eventually became a couple." Naegi said with resignation.

"Oh... i see."

"And what about "Kirigiri-san? The soldier inquired with interest about the things her twin sister told her.

"Kirigiri-san like you at the beginning was distant from me and everyone else but she got along with the majority of the class fairy well after some time, specially me... However she wasn't really interested in me as far i could remember..."

"So that was Junko refering when she told me they weren't really close as she told me first when we were in the infirmary." The girl felt somewhat relieved her sibling told her something not completely false for once.

Filled again with hope to fight for a brighter future, Mukuro was determined to become Naegi's sword and shield for him to spread hope to the world while at the same time cause despair to her beloved sister so when she would get tired of it, she could end it all by herself.

"Thanks Naegi." Without a warning the girl gave the boy a soft kiss on his cheek before leaving the place in a hurry.

"W-why did i kissed him?" Mukuro asked to herself completely flustered as her face was completely red while feeling embarrassed by her sudden action.

But as soon as she recomposed herself a warm smile drew on her face with a light pink on her cheeks as she watched the sunshine, wondering that love maybe wasn't something undeserved for a disappointing girl like her.

"Whoa..." The lucky boy said while blushing as he was left in awe after the sudden kiss from the freckled girl.

**Later that morning...**

After everyone reunited to eat breakfast Mukuro told them there was a change of plans.

"I know that i told you that as soon as we'd get out of this, we were going to contact the Future Foundation, but before that, i need to ask for your help for something important we must do to erradicate despair from this world.

"O-our help? W-what are you planning?" Toko sttutered while feeliing suspicious of the soldier.

Mukuro then explained everyone about Towa's Corporation mass production of Monokuma units and brainwashing helmets. She told them that sabotaging and stopping their production would cause a massive hit on Ultimate Despair forces.

"I know it could turn dangerous, but if we infiltrate into Towa City with everyone's help i can begin to put a stop to my sister's plans."

"If all you say is true, then i think it could be a good oportunity as they wouldn't be expecting us to take immediate action." Kyoko inferred.

"But wouldn't that be a job for the Future Foundation?" The Ultimate Gambler asked with some doubts.

"That would require time for them and they're too busy right now, that's probably why they aren't still searching for us." Mukuro suspected while being aware that Ultimate Despair members were already infiltrated in the Future Foundation, making it still hard to contact them since they could convince the leaders about the events that happened in Hope Peak Academy were part of an ellaborated plan to made the survivors of the mutual game of killing as victims, when in reality they were accomplices of her. Mukuro also wasn't completely sure if what Junko told her regarding her next big plan involved said organization.

Most of the class then agreed to help despite the risks, but others like Celeste, Toko and Byakuya were somewhat hesitant with the idea since they didn't wanted to get involved in dangerous situations. However, they finally decided to support Mukuro's idea after being convinced that working together would be easier to help restore the normal state of the world.

The raven haired then told them about the captives held in Towa City who were used by the mastermind as the first motive to blackmail everyone to participate in the killing school life if they refused to be part of it.

"I-is that true?!" Makoto questioned as he immediately thought of his parents and sister.

"Yes, although i don't know about their current status and location within the city, but i promise i'm going to do everything possible to help to find them." The young woman vowed to everyone.

"So that means i could see Yuta again..." Asahina said with watery eyes.

"Papa..." The Ultimate Programmer thought of his dear father.

"Kenshiro... wait for me." The Ultimate Martial Artist promised to her rival and lover.

"I get that you are all sentimental and believe in the power of hope, but first we have to make a plan before we go to Towa City. We can't just get there without any preparations and believing we aren't going to expect some undesirable surprises." Togami explained to the whole group with a serious face as he didn't allowed his emotions to get between his usual rational thinking, causing others like Mondo and Hina to get somewhat displeased by his words and almost began another discussion against him. However, they were refrained to do it by Ishimaru and Sakura, respectively, in order to avoid an incident like the one that happened yesterday.

"Togami is right, everyone. If we let our emotions get the best of us and go to Towa City without taking any measures, we could get into trouble as soon as an unexpected situation or event presents against us." Kyoko seconded the Ultimate Affluent Progeny who was still viewed by several of his classmates as someone who was just an arrogant asshole with no redeeming qualities, although the words from the perceptive detective gave support and credit to Byakuya's statement for his delight.

"I'm not really good at planning or strategizing..." The soldier told to the heir and the detective after recalling she was only good at following orders and using all kind of weapons.

"We'll help you in everything we can, Ikusaba-san, right guys?" Makoto asked to all his classmates who agreeded to collaborate.

"Thanks everyone." The soldier told to her classmates as she warmly smiled directly at the luckster who also smiled back at her with some embarassment, making Kirigiri to immediately deduce something happened between both as they were looking at each other while blushing.

**_After ellaborating a plan and prepared themselves to leave the following day. The 78th class led by Makoto's hope and Mukuro's resolve decided to embark on a dangerous mission in which they will unite their talents as Ultimates with the firm determination to stop despair from keep spreading into the world_.**

* * *

_**Author's note:**_ _Next chapter wil mark the beginning of the Towa City arc/DR: Another Episode IF arc, which will be full of adventure, drama and more romantic moments between the soldier and the luckster as both fight to free the world from despair._

_See you next chapter!_


	5. Arrival to Towa City

**\- Between Hope and Despair -**

**Chapter 5: Arrival to Towa City**

The whole group agreed to depart early in the morning the following day after ellaborating a plan with the main purpose of infiltrating into Towa City in order to sabotage the mass-production of Monokuma units and brainwashing devices that were secretly made by Towa Group and sent to Junko and Ultimate Despair in exchange of protection and money. The second objective was to find and rescue their loved ones who were held captives in a unknown location within the city.

Mukuro told everyone during the making of the plan that Fujisaki was going to be a key player because of his programming skills, something that made the Ultimate Programmer to feel anxious and pressured. However, everyone reassured him that they were going to support him in everything they could, specially Mondo and Ishimaru, which boosted up his confidence. The fifteen students also agreed to avoid getting involved in any conflict unless there was no other option left.

While her classmates were preparing to leave the basement, Mukuro who was already awaiting for them outside wondered if the plan that involved all the students from class 78 was going to be success at the end because of the dangerous implications it could have during it.

"I hope i can get them of this safe and sound..." The black haired muttered as she was beginning to doubt of her idea.

"I'm pretty sure of it, after all you are with us!" Makoto happily exclaimed as he came to check on the girl who just confessed her feelings the day before, making the Ultimate Soldier to react with a blush.

The two then looked at each other while smiling shyly.

"By the way, i found this the other day, Ikusaba-san." The boy said as he gave a military ration that he found when inspecting one of vehicles the other day to the freckled girl.

"F-for me?" The soldier asked surprised as her eyes shine and her cheeks flushed with a light shade of pink since she loved the special food it contained that was designed for minimal preparation in the battlefield, which consisted in canned, pre-cooked or freeze-dried ingredients, powdered beverage mixes and concentrated food bars with a high number of calories that were like a gift from the heavens after an exhausting day of heavy combat.

"Man, she can be really sweet..." The boy thought as he noticed how cute and adorable she could be during moments like this despite her constant cold and serious expression.

After departing, around a few hours on their way to Towa City and just when they were going to reach the large bridge that connected the road with the huge artificial island where the city got constructed, their vehicles ran out of fuel.

"I thought we had enough gasoline to get to the city..." Mukuro said as the vehicles stopped next to the highspeed highway.

"We must be just a few miles from there." The Ultimate Detective spoke after looking at the enormous cable-stayed bridge.

"Oh man, so close yet so far!" A frustrated Leon exclaimed.

"What do we do now?" Maizono asked to everyone.

"We can walk all the way across the bridge." Aoi suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Hina..." The martial artist told her friend about her dangerous idea since all type of vehicles passed at top speed and just a narrow passage at each side of the roadway.

Makoto then took the initiative and decided to ask for a ride by standing up next to the road with his thumb finger lifted.

"He's so brave..." The soldier thought as she suspired while watching the luckster with admiration.

After waiting for several minutes Makoto couldn't manage to get the attention of any driver.

"Sorry everyone..." The boy apologized to his friends.

"Don't worry man, we've got you covered!" Mondo told to Makoto as he and Ishimaru who joined him stood next to the highway with high spirts.

"Let's do it, bro!" The Ultimate Moral Compass told to the biker who not only made the peaces but also managed to form a friendship with him in the couple days they spent in the basement.

"Hell yeah, bro!" Mondo shouted completely fired up.

Nonetheless, and despite their efforts, both were ignored much to their dismay.

Hagakure and Hifumi then tried their luck only to fail miserably.

"Dude, without my crystall ball i'm nothing..." The fortune teller lamented.

"How about you give it a try Togami-san?" Makoto asked to the affluent progeny.

"Tch, i'll never do something so low." The blonde heir refused with evident annoyance.

"Alright everyone, let the professionals take care of this!" Leon exclaimed with great confidence as he wanted to show off to the girls, specially Sayaka.

After a couple of minutes, a woman on her late thirties stopped her convertible car next to the aspiring rock star.

"Hey sweety' wanna go for a ride?~" The women seductively said as she took off her black glasses before winking at him.

"N-no thanks..." The orange haired baseball star face nervously responded as his face got completely red by the sassy woman comment.

"Well, you miss it, sweety!" The woman expressed with a smirk before leaving at full speed.

As he went back trying to cover his face of the embarassment the young man could hear mocking comments and giggles from Celeste and Fukawa.

"Dude, i think we should have the girls to try to pick a ride." Still feeling humillated, Kuwata proposed to Makoto who had to agree since he and the rest of the males of his class failed horribly or refused to take part.

The luckster then went to ask the girls personally since apparently the ladies had a good opinion of him. However, he got the following responses:

"N-no way I'm d-doing something so h-humilliating like t-that!" Fukawa stuttered angrily.

"I won't do it unless you pay me first ten million dollars, then we could talk." Yasuhiro Taeko, or better known as Celestia Ludenberg swiftly rejected the idea with her unreasonable proposal.

"I-i don't think i could do it..." Chihiro nervously replied.

"I'd kindly help in whatever i can, but this isn't something i could perform with the desired success..." Sakura apologized to the young man.

"..." Kyoko's silence said everything about the idea.

"It isn't convenient in this situation." Mukuro in her Junko disguise replied with her usual stoicism because her sister was obviously seen by Towa City population as the public enemy #1.

Makoto the proposed her to take her wig off and give it a try to which the soldier after being encouraged by the boy of her affections finally agreed. However just as she stood next to the road she froze in the spot and immediately went back covering her face in embarassment causing Makoto to apologize to her and warmly comfort her much to their classmates surprise save for Kirigiri and Togami who couldn't care less, making both blush as the suspicions of their classmates about them began to arise.

"Well i guess its a job for the two of us!" Maizono and Asahina cheerfully exclaimed.

The swimmer and the pop idol singer then went to ask for a lift with their upbeat attitude and femenine charisma.

A truck stopped almost immediately next to the two beautiful young women.

"Woah, that was fast..." Leon said dumbfounded.

"Going to the city, ladies?" The trucker who was middle-aged man asked to the charismatic girls.

"Yeah, but could you also get our friends, please?" The Ultimate Pop Idol pleaded to the trucker as she pointed to her classmates.

"Well looking at your faces how could i say no, but they go into the cargo area."

"Thank you very much!" The two girls exclaimed in unison.

Then Makoto and company had to accomodate in the trailer carrying tons of supplies leaving the students with limited space.

"Well, at least we are just traveling like that for a short time until we get into the city..." The Ultimate Lucky Student said as he tried his best to avoid getting crushed by the giant boxes inside the trailer.

"So where do you girls came from?" The man asked with curiosity.

"We come from Hop-..." Hina almost spilled the beans if not for Sayaka's intervention."From Hokkaido!" The pop idol exclaimed by telling to the man they came from the second largest island of Japan, and the largest and northernmost prefecture.

The trucker then questioned both girls about the motive of their visit to Towa City during tough times like this to which the girls lied to him saying the two and their friends have wanted to visit Towa City turistic attractions for a long time. The man after hearing that recommended them to visit Towa Riverside, a commercial shopping district built along a river leading to Towa Tower, and eat in the famous restaurant called Pig Boy where he adviced to order the delicious Pig Burger Bacon.

After some minutes of travel, they reached the end of the bridge and the main access where an exhaustive revision of every vehicle was taking place in order to prevent violent people and guns coming into the city to cause chaos and crimes into the relative peaceful city since the frequency of violent acts was among the lowest in a world after The Tragedy where the number of violent acts was still off the charts.

"What should we do now!?" A visibly nervous Hina inquired to the man.

"Don't worry ladies, i already know the guys who are on guard here, they won't suspect anything." The trucker assured with confidence. Nonetheless, Mukuro and the others inside were already prepared to enter into action in case they were discovered.

"Yo officer Daigo, how are you today?" The trucker asked to the man who worked as a police officer at Towa City Police Department, but was assigned to control and revision of vehicles in the main entrance to the city.

"Just the usual, Touma..." The man bored by his daily rutine of his job spoke with a monotone voice.

"And who are those two?" The guard asked after looking at the idol and the swimmer next to the driver at the cabin of the truck.

"Some cute ladies i found who needed my help after their vehicles suffered from a ."

The security man suspected he has seen the girls before but couldn't figure their identities.

"Okay, now open the back doors of the trailer, Touma."

"Come on Daigo, you already know i'm carrying tons of supplies for the people who live here."

"You know it's a standard procedure we do everytime..."

"Oh no, we are getting found!" The blue haired singer exclaimed in her mind as she heard the conversation between both men.

Suddenly, at that precise moment, a violent man tried to force his way into to the city after being found out he was carrying all type of weapons and explosives in the trunk of his car.

"LET ME PASS OR I'LL BLOW UP ALL OF YOU!" The crazy man who had a swirl pattern on his eyes shouted loudly as he opened his shirt revealing an explosive belt, shocking everyone present.

However, without previous warning, a bullet flew impacted right into the skull of the man killing him in the spot.

"W-what just happened outside?" Hifumi asked with fear after hearing screams and sounds heard outside.

"Seems like a man threatened to blow himself up ended up getting killed by Towa City security forces." Mukuro told everyone on the trailer as she recognized the caliber and gun just by the sound of the shot.

"Geez... another man in despair who wanted to cross the bridge and get into the city." The police officer sighed as he looked at the body of the man laying in a pool of blood.

"I'll have to clean up this mess..." Daigo commented while holding a gun on his hand before returning to the trucker who was along by the events that just happened. "Just because you pass here regularly i'll allow you to cross this time without revision, Touma."

"Thank you, sir!" The trucker gratefully told to the officer.

"Phew! We were so lucky this time..." Both girls exclaimed in relief after passing the controlled access.

The truck then went into the modern city founded by Towa Group just a few years ago and which initial construction started with the conglomerate headquarters and quickly followed by research buildings, factories, commercial buildings, residential areas, and more.

"Thanks for everything!" The voluptuous swimmer thanked the man who wished them good luck in their vacation trip as he left them next to Towa Tower, the city's tallest building and a popular tourist destination.

As soon as the fifteen students were outside they immediately noticed the air was a lot more clean and the sky wasn't as polluted compared to other places they've been before due to the air purification system developed by Towa Group to combat the worldwide spread of horrible air pollution.

Byakuya then focused his sharp eyes at the giant tower with the logo of Towa Corporation logo on it. "To think those bastards of Towa Group lead by Tokuichi Towa would take advantage of something so dreadful like The Tragedy just to increase their fortune and get privileges from it... Although it doesn't surprise in the slightlest since they always tried dirty tactics to topple Togami Enterprises." The blonde whispered with his usual arrogance as he adjusted his glasses.

Having entered the city and with the first step of their plan complete, the group now had to infiltrate Towa Group headquarters without drawing the attention of their security forces and search for a top executive to steal his ID card in order to gain access to the secret underground factory producing Monokuma units and brainwashing helmets.

"So how are we going to do that?" The girl infamously known as 'The Queen of Liars' inquired to the soldier.

After some minutes of discussing different ways to do it, the group didn't reached a consensus. Makoto who was still trying to looked at a nearby theater where the staff was preparing for the set of a play,

"I have an idea!" The luckster exclaimed as he looked over a bunch of costumes, wigs, masks and accessories on delivery carts that were left in an alley behind the theatre building.

As the fifteen students from Hope's Peak Academy went to the theater they were unaware a survelliance camera focused it attention on them.

"Interesting!" A voice exclaimed with excitement as a shadowy figure was observing at them in a monitor from what it looked to be the inside of a laboratory room with a devilish smile.

_**Who's this shadowy figure?**_

_**How are class 78 going to enter into Towa Headquarters?**_

_**Find out next chapter** **!**_

* * *

_**Author's note: **I hope you liked this chapter, the scene where Makoto and the others ask for a ride was fun to write lol. _

_For related trivia i ask you: __In which popular anime series a similar scene like the one that i based on to write said scene took place? _

_Don't forget to review!_


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